She Wants To Get Married
by emackenzie
Summary: Based off the song by Thomas Rhett
1. Bellamy's POV

He adjust the tie for the 100th time that afternoon, knowing no matter how many times he did, it would still feel like it was choking him. Everything about today was choking him. He pulled on the sleeve of his black suit jacket, trying to remember the last time he had even worn a suit. His mother's funeral? No, it was prom. He wore one to prom, and she wore that champagne colored dress that fit her like a glove. It was that night that he knew, just knew, dancing with her under the flashing lights, seeing the way she smiled up at him. That girl had owned his heart, and if he was honesty, she probably owned it long before prom night.

Holding her during the last song, he started to lean in towards her, he was ready, and he wanted nothing more than to feel her pink lips against his own. The moment in his head had the rest of the world melting away, and just the two of them standing in their school gym, lips pressed together, her hands finding their way into hair at the nap of his neck. But right before he was able to seal his lips to hers the gym lights turned on, blinding everyone, and pulling groans from all those around them. They both smiled at each other, before their friends pulled them apart asking about the after party. The rest of the night he was unsure how to act, where to put his hands as they danced together at the after party. She seemed totally unaffected by their almost kiss, which only affected him more.

They had been friends for as long as he could remember, and not once had she ever given him any sign or thought that she wanted him or saw him as anything other than a friend. So prom came and went, and he didn't kiss her. Graduation happened in the same fashion, hugs, and kisses on the checks, but not what he wanted, what he hoped for, longed for really. Even as spring turned into summer, and they found themselves together, her small hand in his larger one talking about the future, under the stars, he never did make the move he should have.

"I want my grandad to preform my wedding." She whispered into the night's air. "Out here, in the county where it's peaceful and beautiful."

"Put a lot of thought into your wedding already princess?" he laughed, looking over at her. They were laying on the bed of his truck, looking up at the stars. They had been talking about college, what would come after college, so her comment wasn't totally out of the blue, only slightly off topic. But he'd been friends with her long enough to know her brain didn't always work the way others did.

"Ever since I was little and married you under the magnolia tree." Clarke smiled at him, her eyes shining like the stars above them. "It's all planned already."

They went their separate ways that fall, her off to the east coast, Harvard, pre-med, just like her mom. And he went to University of Washington. They promised each other Thanksgiving and Christmas, spring break, long weekends. College wasn't going to ruin their friendship, it wouldn't come between them is what she always said.

But it did. Busy schedules, bad weather, and new friendships pulled them apart. They did the best they could keeping each other up to date through text messages and FaceTime, and the new promise of summer vacation. Which is how life went for the next four years.

He got the invitation half way through spring semester his senior year. The large white envelope with his name in a fancy print. There wasn't a return address, so he was fully confused until he had opened it, reading it over and over again, feeling his heart crack every time he looked at the words. She was getting married. She had sent him a wedding invitation.

She had called him when he didn't respond to the invitation to her engagement party. And he knew she was looking for an RSVP. He had stared at his phone for a long time before sending it to voicemail. He couldn't. He knew that if he heard her voice it would hurt even more, and he didn't want to put that on her either. So instead of being an adult and talking to her, he typed out a quick text message, congratulating her and apologizing, saying he wouldn't be back in town until right before the wedding.

Once he had gotten back home it had taken him days to stop by her house. Her dad was outside on the porch, book in hand, sweet tea on the table beside him.

"Bellamy Blake." He greeted him as he came up the stairs. "Congratulations are in order." He stood up and hugged the boy before motioning for him to sit down in the other chair. "How's it feel to have your undergrad completed?"

"Thank you sir, it's great to be done, and on time." Bellamy nodded. "And I guess I should congratulate you as well. I got the invitation." He scratched the back of his neck, feeling uncomfortable.

Bellamy could see the way Jake Griffin's face changed for a brief second, and how he looked off into the distance. "The wedding." He had a sad smile on his face nodding his head. "You know Clarke, she's got some master plan to live by, a time table for everything. I had hoped college would help her relax, do away with her mater plan."

Bellamy didn't know what to say. He knew about Clarke's master plan to an extent. He had found her planner back in high school and had laughed it off at the time. Now he wished he had taken it a little more seriously. But she had just taken her planner back, tapped him on the nose and told him her logic behind it. He laughed, and they never spoke about her planner again.

But there he was, just a few weeks later, making his way down the worn dirt path towards the ceremony, black suit and all, flask tucked safe inside pocket and filled. He could see groups of people standing around tall tables, glasses in hand, and the overwhelming smell of flowers, and a large white tent in the back, which he assumed held the bridal party.

He stopped in a line of guests, waiting to sign the guest book, picking up a framed engagement picture to study it. She smiled up at the man in the photo, her eyes shining. She looked happy, and it broke his heart a little more. He knew that smile, he remembered that smile being directed at him so many times over the years. Putting the photo back down on the table he bypassed the guest book. He couldn't sign it. He wasn't sure he could make it through, now that he was here.

Looking around he spotted a familiar group of people and made his way towards them, nodding in greeting as he joined their circle.

"Hey man." Nathan Miller nodded in greeting when Bellamy joined them.

"Bellamy! Wasn't this your guys spot? Flashbacks, am I right?" Jasper Jordan asked laughing, as Bellamy took in a group of people he knew from high school. The wedding wasn't big, she never wanted a big wedding, friends and family only, smaller was better.

"Jasper!" Octavia hit him hard in the center of the chest, others in the group groaning. "Hey big brother." She moved to hug him, her voice softer, full of what Bellamy knew as sympathy.

"Hey." He whispered giving her a quick squeeze.

"Good to see you again man." Monty Green gave him a quick smile and wave.

They had all been friends in high school, Arcadia was a small town, surrounded by even more small towns, and everyone knew everyone. So it wasn't a surprise that a wedding would be like a small reunion at the same time.

"Have you seen her yet?" Octavia asked.

"No, I couldn't make it back for the engagement party, interviews." He shrugged looking around, trying to sound casual about the whole thing. It all screamed Clarke, simple, country, perfect. He knew she didn't want to spend a lot of money, she never needed a lot to be happy. She liked things simple, easy, it's what he loved about her.

"It was cheesy, they had gold balloons." Harper shrugged, while Octavia offered him a sad smile. "The photos turned out nice, though." Harper was never one to end anything on a negative note.

He listened as the others talked about the party, the groom, Clarke. Harper and Octavia had seen her dress. It all tugged at his heart in ways he never expected. He could feel the tears burn his dry eyes, and his fingers itched to pull out his flask. But he nodded along with everyone, not letting on at how much he was hurting.

"We should find seats." Octavia finally said as others started to make their way towards the rows of chairs.

His plan was to sit in the very back, as hidden as he could be, and pray he made it through the ceremony without crying, or protesting. He knew that if he wanted to get his feelings off his chest, he could go find her right now. But he couldn't do that to her, knowing how much time she had put into planning this, how happy she looked in the pictures.

"Bell, you coming?" his sister asked as everyone else started to make their way towards the chairs, and he still stood rooted in the same spot, eyes locked on the white tent not far from them. When he finally looked over at his sister, her smile said it all. She understood. There weren't many secrets between the Blake siblings.

He gave her a tight smile before he turned around to leave. Who was he kidding? He couldn't sit there and watch her marry someone else. He knew he couldn't go back the same way he came, the worn dirt trail lead past the Griffins and others he couldn't face right now. Luckily Jasper had been right, this had been their spot, so he knew that if he went down a quarter of a mile towards the creek, he'd able to loop back to the makeshift parking lot, without having to see any of the other wedding guests, let alone Abby and Jake Griffin. It lead him past the large white tent, and past the pallet built bar. He heard someone calling his name, but he couldn't turn around, the tears stinging his eyes already, his flask in one hand, and the other unscrewing the top. The drink burned his throat, but it didn't stop him from taking another shot of the amber liquid.

She wanted to get married, but she didn't want to marry him. It was the heart breaking truth. He had waited to long, and there was nothing he could do about it


	2. Clarke's POV

Her wedding wasn't something she had always thought about, not in great detail. But the summer she turned nine she married her future best friend, Bellamy Blake, under a magnolia tree in her back yard. It was that afternoon in her blue sundress, him in red swim shorts and a thin worn T-shirt that the planning started. Their hands sticky from melted popsicles as Bellamy's younger sister, Octavia, announced them husband and wife, a bouquet of weeds and flowers in her other hand, as the other neighborhood kids looked on.

She had always been a planner, in terms of her academic goals. She had insisted she learn to read before starting kindergarten. Been the only middle school student to take algebra, worked so hard that she graduated a year early. She was accepted to Harvard, pre-med. That had always been the plan. Her goals were set, she followed her timeline, all written in ink in her planner, no white out, no crossing out. Once it was written, it happened.

So of course when she married him that summer, her wedding got worked into her mater plan. But life was funny in that it didn't always follow plans written in ink.

Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake floated around each other for years before finally declaring each other best friends. It happened sometime during their first year of high school and no one could really be sure of how or when it happened, just that it happened, and it made sense. The two became nearly inseparable. Bellamy joined the football team, and Clarke did her homework in the stands during his practices. In the spring, Clarke ran of school office the following year, and Bellamy made her posters, handed out flyers with her picture, and threw her party when she won. They were each other's partners, cheerleaders, and best friends.

Clarke could still remember the look of near devastation on Bellamy's face a week before prom when she told him someone else had asked her.

_Clarke dropped her books on top of the picnic table, making everyone look up at her. _

_"That bad of a French lesson?" Bellamy asked raising his eyebrows, pushing his fries towards her._

_"You'll never believe what happened." She rolled her eyes leaning into his side for a hug before squaring her shoulders. "Dax asked me to prom."_

_Bellamy's hand froze midway to his mouth, stuck for a moment before recovering. "Um…"Clarke didn't know what to make of the way he was looking at her._

_"What'd you say?" Jasper Jordan asked for the other side of the table, his signature googles perched on the top of his head._

_"He's in my beginners French class, what the hell was he doing in your class?" Octavia asked._

_"I don't know." Clarke shrugged picking up a fry. "He was waiting outside the classroom."_

_"Creep." Octavia told her._

_"What'd you tell him?" she could hear how controlled Bellamy's voice was, strained to the sound indifferent._

_"Nothing." She looked at everyone before turning to face Bellamy again, offering him a smile of reassurance before reaching for him hand, "I laughed and came straight out here."_

She went to prom with Bellamy, just like planned, written in ink since junior year. He'd held her hips for all the traditional prom photos. They had so much fun and she could feel it building in her stomach all night. When he pulled her close for the last dance, she was sure he was going to kiss her. But the overhead lights came on before he could and he spent the rest of the night freaked out, unsure of himself. She could tell he was uncomfortable, and did her best of act like she normally did.

Prom night didn't change anything for them, but college did. Bellamy started dating, which was something he never did in high school, and it threw her through a loop. First it was a girl named Gina, it didn't last for very long, a couple of weeks, but it didn't make the sting any less painful. It was also the first time that she realized maybe he wasn't on the same page as her, as her master plan.

So by the time she found out about Echo, Clarke was already in a relationship with Wells Jaha, a family friend. She hadn't exactly been forthcoming with her personal life with Bellamy. They had started to grow apart when she found herself taking white out to her planner, rolling it over his names in certain areas. She wasn't bitter, and she still considered Bellamy one of her closest friends, but she could admit to herself that they were both different people. College had changed them both, and helped to pave new paths for them both.

But her heart grew heavy after the save the dates were sent out, and she didn't hear from him. She had asked her mother if he responded to the engagement party invitation, but she sadly shook her head. He'd been dodging her calls, responding to texts with short answers. When she tried to call him on it, he used finals and graduation as an excuse, and she bought it, for the most part. She too was drowning in senior finals, but she'd always made time for the important things, for him.

She had hoped that he would show up at the engagement party, she hadn't seen him in months, and wanted nothing more than to introduce him to Wells. But as she stood at her own party, she could feel her heart sink, even with Wells by her side.

"Wow, those are some big balloons outside." Harper McIntyre said in greeting.

"You look great Clarke." Octavia Blake smiled, giving Clarke a hug.

Clarke smiled at the girls, looking behind them, hoping he was there.

"He isn't back yet." Octavia offered, a small smile.

"Yeah, I know, he told me. I was just hoping…" she trailed off. "But I'm so glad you guys made it. Let me introduce you to Wells." She grabbed his arms, getting his attention. "Wells, this is Harper and Octavia, and this is Wells Jaha."

"Hello." Wells shook both their hands giving them a warm smile. "Thank you both for coming, it's great to meet so many of Clarke's friends from home."

The party went on, and it was sweet, and perfect and it made her happy. She found herself standing next to Octavia, watching as Wells captivated the room.

"He's okay, right?" Clarke asked, turning to look at her.

"Bell?" Octavia asked, looking over at her. "Yeah, he's…he's okay."

"I feel like he's been advoiding me." She slouched a little, her smile sad. "I know, graduation, and finals, it's a lot. But, it feels like it's more than that."

Octavia studied her for a minute, and Clarke knew that she was choosing her words carefully. "You're right, this all caught him off guard a little, and you know he doesn't handle emotions all that well. But don't worry." She reached out and grabbed her hand. "He'll be home for the ceremony, he even has a suit."

"Bellamy, in a suit?" Clarke made herself laugh. "I haven't seen him in a suit since prom."

"I don't know if he's worn one since prom." She smiled at him, but turning back to the party. "Wells seems really great Clarke, I'm happy for you, and Bellamy is too."

"Yeah, thanks." She whispered, looking back at the party too, feeling her stomach tight with knots.

Clarke heard when he got back to town, news spread quickly in such a small town. And she'd be lying if she said she wasn't disappointed that he didn't come to see her. And the disappointment seemed to grow the closer it got to the wedding.

"You okay Griffin?" Raven Reyes, her maid of honor asked. Her and Raven had met in college, bonded over a strange break up between the two with Finn Collins. She had quickly become Clarke's best friend, more like her sister. She was the only person that knew, truly knew what was in Clarke's planner, under all the white out.

They were inside the white party tent, putting the finishing touches on everything. She could hear the guests outside of the tent talking, the soft music playing. Everything was perfect, almost exactly as she had pictured it that summer night so many years ago. Everything was right, except the feeling in her stomach. With every minute that passes, she started to feel heavy, scared.

"Yeah, just jitters." Clarke gave her a tight smile, smoothing down the front of her dress for the 100th time that afternoon. She had to keep biting the inside of her cheek to keep her tears at bay. "It's hot in here." She said moving towards the standing fans her mother had thought to have set up.

"Hey, hey, talk to me." Raven whispered, reaching for Clarkes shaking hand.

"I just, I can't believe this is happening. It all came so fast." She looked up, blinking back tears, trying to blow her breath upwards.

"It's okay, Clarke." Raven looked at her with worried eyes. "Just breathe, you need to breathe." Her voice was soothing as she squeezed her hand.

"I'm okay." Clarke nodded, pulling in deep breathes. "I just need air, real air." She pointed towards the back of the tent.

"Go, take a few minutes." Raven nodded, as Clarke made a quick exit.

Once outside of the tent, she stood with her hands on her hips, pacing back and forth along the width of the white tent. "Breathe Clarke." She kept repeating to herself, over and over. Just as she felt herself getting her heart rate and mind back under control, she saw him, quickly walking past her without even a glace in her direction.

"Bellamy?" she whispered, blinking, thinking it was a trick, but he was only getting farther away. "Bellamy!" she shouted, but he still didn't stop.

She could fell her hands start to shake again, watching him disappear from sight, between the tress in the distance. It wasn't until she felt Raven's arm wrap around her waist that she realized she was crying.

"Oh babe." Raven whispered, squeezing her tight. "It's okay, you're okay."

"I-I can't, I can't do this." Clarke muttered, burying her face in her friends shoulder.

"Okay, okay." Raven pulled back to look at her, cupping her face with her hands, wiping her tears away with her thumbs. "I've got this." She nodded, giving Clarke the softest smile.

Clarke nodded her head, a sad smile pulling her lips up in the corners. "Okay."

"Go." Raven said, eyes darting towards the trees.

Clarke looked back into the open tent flaps and then at Raven before heading down the path she had just seen Bellamy take. The farther away she got back the ceremony, the better she felt. And she knew there was only one place to go now to find Bellamy.


End file.
